Perspectives

Computers have become an essential part of the creative process, whether it’s for games, films or the next great software project. That means coding and programming are now the building blocks for many creative outlets. If you’re interested in learning to code, these are three of the best software programming languages for aspiring engineers to start with because of their wide range of use in software development projects.

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Software Programming Language #1: C/C++

In use for over three decades, C and C++ are two cornerstone software programming languages that continue to be used widely today in engineering projects. C++ could be thought of as a super-set of C, in the sense that C++ understands most of the syntax and semantics of C, it adds some more functionality to C and it also allows for including the C code in the C++ programs. And that is the reason we are counting them as a single language here. They’re not exactly identical, however, so it’s important to know the ins and outs of both of them. Both, C and C++, are highly adaptable programming languages that are used in enterprise programs, video games, graphics programs (including 3D graphics), programs requiring real-time calculations, or programs requiring better control over the hardware components. Web browsers like Google Chrome are written in these languages, as is the template library for Electronic Arts’ Frostbite game engine. Simply put, if you’re looking to get into software engineering, you’ll need to know C and C++.

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Software Programming Language #2: Java

Not to be confused with the web-page development focused JavaScript, Java is a widely used software programming language at the core of many programs, applications, web-pages and systems. For example, large parts of the Android mobile platform are written in Java, as it’s the official language for Android development. Though C and C++ can also be used, Android app developers are highly encouraged to use Java. In addition, PC programs like Office suites (LibreOffice, OpenOffice) are reliant on Java. One of Java’s big advantages is the fact that it’s a platform-independent language – write once, run anywhere. This means it can be used as a language of development in heterogeneous development environment — develop on any of the platforms Windows, Mac, Linux, mobile operating systems and run on any of them.

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Software Programming Language #3: Python

Python is a dynamic software programming language that’s great for the programming of scripts — extremely helpful for setting up automated process in engineering projects. Python’s big advantage is that it is simple to learn and is a shorter language than many of the other software programming languages out there — you’ll need about 5 times less code for any particular element than you might in a Java or C++ program. While the precision of the other languages is crucial at times, Python can help any project — from films to enterprise programs — move along more quickly. Visual effects studio Industrial Light and Magic and electronics company Philips are among the firms that have used Python.

Many of these software programming languages work in conjunction with each other — meaning you will work on projects where you’ll need to know C++, Java and Python. Of course you’ll need more than just coding knowledge to succeed in engineering jobs — check out these posts on engineering soft skills and characteristics of software engineers to find out more about what it takes to be a great software engineer.

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MEET OUR CONTRIBUTORS

Bobbi Makani

Bobbi leads Cogswell's Business degree programs. Her areas of expertise include social innovation, entrepreneurship, strategic business development, marketing, international business and quantitative methods. She has started and co-founded several ventures in the areas of food service, retail, and [...]

Brian Shepard

Dr. Brian Shepard, President and CAO, has more than thirty years of collegiate teaching and administration experience, including four years as the Associate Dean for Faculty and Academic Affairs and Professor of Audio Design Practice in the USC Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the [...]

Christian Sasso

Chris is the founder of Heroic Arcade, a studio that won Best in Show at the Project Tango App Contest with WeR Cubed, an augmented reality 3D puzzle game playable on Google Tango devices. He is the former Senior Embedded Developer at Nest Labs and Senior Software Engineer at Cisco Systems. Chris [...]

Daniel Codella

In addition to being a former Cogswell student, Daniel is a writer and marketer with a passion for clever content. When he's not helping people and brands share their stories, he enjoys traveling, writing music, and playing Bocce ball. Twitter: [...]

Cogswell Guest

From time to time, Cogswell invites guests to post contributions to Perspectives. Their biographical information can be found on the contributed [...]

Isabell Fearnsby

As a professional oil painter and teacher, Isabell is known for her creative vision and love of collaboration. She is a natural teacher and enjoys fostering enthusiasm, curiosity and mastery of the subject matter in her students. She has over 20 years teaching experience in the US and abroad, is [...]

Jerome Solomon

Jerome Solomon is Dean of the College at Cogswell. Jerome has 17 years of industry experience in Hollywood. He worked at Industrial Light and Magic, DreamWorks Animation, Electronic Arts, and Rhythm & Hues Studios. During his career, he received film credits on Avatar, Madagascar, Shrek 2, [...]

John Duhring

John has been a founding team member at seven startups, generating successful exits to Borland, 5th Generation Systems, EMC and AOL. He has applied technology to learning at Prentice-Hall, Apple, Dow Jones and for Stanford’s Professional Publishing Courses. As the Director of Communications and [...]

Julius Dobos

Julius brings over two decades of professional experience as an award-winning composer of electronic and film music, sound synthesist, sound designer and audio engineer to Cogswell's Digital Audio Technology Department, as Distinguished Lecturer. At Cogswell, he teaches a wide range of audio- and [...]

Mira Nikolic

Mira brings 17+ years of feature animation industry experience and passion for teaching computer graphics to future technical directors and technical artists. She serves as Assistant Professor in the Digital Arts and Animation program at Cogswell College. She worked at Disney Feature Animation, [...]

Mohan Shah

As Professor and Program Director for Engineering, Mohan brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Cogswell. He has more than 15 years of software industry experience leading software development and electrical engineering teams at Yodlee, Wells Fargo, CSI and NASA. Mohan is equally [...]

Monica Cappiello

Monica brings over 8 years of higher education experience to Cogswell, including roles such as Dean of Academic Affairs and Director of Media. Prior to that, she worked over 8 years in multiple studios such as Red Giant, Mendez Foundation, Pixellex Studios and PBS. Several works have been awarded [...]

Nancy Harrison

Nancy began her career as an illustrator like many do - crayoning on walls. Back then it was considered a bad habit, now she gets paid for it. She has somehow managed to doodle her way into a great career. In addition to her role at Cogswell as Adjunct Professor, her work has been published in [...]

Reid Winfrey

Reid Winfrey, Associate Professor of Digital Arts and Animation at Cogswell. A graduate of the University of California at Davis and San Jose State University, he holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Printmaking and Pictorial Arts. He has presented at conferences and museums on topics ranging from [...]

Robert Steinberg

Robert Steinberg brings over 30 years of marketing and executive management experience to Cogswell’s Business Administration program. A former co-founder and President of a Human-Machine Interface (HMI) device and Defense systems company for over 18 years, he led the company to prominence [...]

Rosie Katz

Rosie Katz went to Cogswell College where she graduated with a B.A. in Computer Video Imaging with a Concentration in Character Animation. After spending a couple years as a Tools Tester at Electronic Arts, she began her design career working on such notable franchises as Dead Space and Call of [...]

Evan Skolnick

With over 25 years of combined story and game development experience at world-class entertainment companies such as Marvel, Activision, Telltale and Lucasfilm, Evan Skolnick brings a unique perspective to narrative experiences in the games we play. He has imparted core storytelling techniques and [...]

Tamryn Spruill

Tamryn Spruill takes the reigns as Editor-In-Chief at SB Nation’s Swish Appeal after rising through the ranks at Golden State of Mind: first, as a Contributing Writer/Editor, and then as Associate Editor of Editorial Content. She has been a fan of women’s basketball since the 1996 inception of [...]

Timothy Duncan

Dr. Timothy Duncan is an award-winning composer, performer and educator who is equally at home working with technology and with traditional media. He has composed and performed a body of new music compositions as well as created visual pieces and music for modern dance that have brought him [...]